This invention is generally concerned with a postage accounting system and more particularly with a postage accounting system including structure for transmitting a bit-mapped image of variable information for driving an external printer.
This patent application is one of the following three, concurrently filed, related, patent applications assigned to the same assignee: U.S patent application Ser. No. 08/356,747 for a Postage Accounting System Including Means For Transmitting A Bit-Mapped Image Of Variable Information For Driving An External Printer, filed by Seestrom (Attorney Docket No. E-306); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/356,749 for a Postage Accounting System Including Means For Transmitting ASCII Encoded Variable Information For Driving An External Printer, filed by Ramadei (Attorney Docket No. E-307); and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/356,748 for a Postage Metering System With Dedicated and Non-Dedicated Postage Printing Means, filed by Seestrom (Attorney Docket No. E-308).
Various data processing systems have been developed. Examples of such systems are disclosed in: U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,359 for a Control Circuit For Use With A Dot Matrix Printer, filed by Weikel and issued Jul. 14, 1981; U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,924 for a Dot Matrix Type Serial Printer filed, by Miki and issued Apr. 12,1988; U.S. Patent No. 4,746,941 for a Dot Printer With Token Bit Selection Of Data Latching, filed by Pham et. al. and issued May 24, 1988; U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,010 for a Franking Machine With Variable And Fixed Thermal Printhead, filed by Gilham, et al., and issued Apr. 17, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,131 for Printer Apparatus, filed by Suzuki and issued Dec. 18, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,675 for Printer Controller Apparatus Interfacing With External Data Sources, filed by Okada and issued Aug. 18, 1992; and, U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,469 for a Graphic Emulation Method In A Printer, filed by Ro and issued Jun. 28, 1994.
The most pertinent of the aforesaid references are: U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,010, which discloses a thermal printer for independently printing fixed and variable information utilizing different printheads at a single printing station; U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,131, which discloses printing apparatus including a memory for storing a printing pattern, structure for changing the printing pattern in response to externally supplied data, and a printhead for printing the changed pattern; U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,675, which discloses a printer unit having a data processor connected thereto for processing internal data and data received from multiple sources for driving the printer unit; and, U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,469, which discloses structure for changing the data content of a graphic image stored in a dot matrix printer.
However, the references are silent concerning the provision of a system which includes postage accounting structure having a communications interface, for receiving plain text versions of mailing addresses from an external source thereof, for transmitting fixed postage indicia information once to a separate printer for sequentially printing on each item, including a label or letter, of a plurality thereof which are to be sequentially processed by the printer, and for separately sequentially transmitting AA bit-mapped image of encrypted variable postage indicia and addressing information to the printer for printing on the sequentially processed items.
Accordingly:
an object of the invention is to provide a postage accounting system including means for transmitting a bit-mapped image of variable information to an external printer;
another object is to provide postage accounting structure including a communications interface connected for receiving plain text versions of mailing addresses from a source thereof, means for transmitting a bit-mapped image of fixed postage indicia information to a separate printer, once for a plurality items, including labels or letters, for sequentially printing thereon, and means for sequentially transmitting respective bit mapped images of encrypted variable information for sequentially printing on the respective items; and
another object is to provide a postage value metering system which includes postage value accounting means having encryption structure and a communications interface, means connected to the interface for providing plain text versions of mailing addresses for a plurality of items, including labels or letters, and the accounting means including means for transmitting a fixed portion of a postage indicia once for successively printing on each of the plurality of letters, and the accounting means including means for sequentially transmitting encrypted versions of variable portions of the postage indicia for each item for sequentially printing on the respective items.